The Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Nayab Singh Saini is all set to take oath as Haryana’s chief minister for a second straight term today (October 17). He was chosen as the leader of the Haryana BJP Legislature Party on Wednesday, in the presence of central observers Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav in Panchkula.
Later, Saini, Shah and other senior party leaders met Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatraya to stake a claim to form the new government. Several top BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief ministers of the BJP-ruled states, are expected to attend the swearing-in ceremony in Panchkula.
Over a dozen MLAs are also likely to take oath as ministers, along with the chief minister.
#WATCH | Chandigarh: Haryana caretaker CM Nayab Singh Saini, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Minister-former CM Manohar Lal Khattar, Union Minister and BJP election in charge for Haryana – Dharmendra Pradhan and others meet Governor Bandaru Dattatraya and submit a letter of… pic.twitter.com/wW7G2bdz8M
— ANI (@ANI) October 16, 2024
But why has the BJP picked October 17 for the Haryana government’s oath-taking ceremony? Let’s take a closer look.
What’s on October 17?
This year, Valmiki Jayanti is being celebrated on October 17. Maharishi Valmiki, a sage and poet, was the author of the Hindu epic Ramayana, whose birth anniversary is marked every year by some Dalit communities.
It is also observed as “Pargat Diwas” by the Valmiki religious community.
The Haryana government has declared October 17 a public holiday in view of the
Valmiki Jayanti.
In January, the BJP named the Ayodhya International Airport after Maharishi Valmiki saying it will “disseminate a message of truth, morality and spirituality in society”.
Speaking about the importance of Maharishi Valmiki to the BJP’s politics, Manohar Lal Khattar, when he was Haryana’s CM, had said, “Antyodaya and social harmony is our government’s motto. Maharishi Valmiki’s vision of Ram Rajya is being upheld by the governments led by the BJP as we work towards development. Maharishi Valmiki’s teachings play an important role in making the country a world power. Valmiki ji had written texts such as Ramayana and Yogavashistha, which are gems in the field of literature, society and religion.”
BJP’s comeback in Haryana
The BJP’s unexpected victory in Haryana is historic. This is the first time a party has come to power for a third straight term in the state. Defying exit polls, the saffron party bagged 48 of the 90 Assembly seats in the recent elections.
All three Independent MLAs have also extended their support to the BJP.
This comes just months after the saffron party won only five of the 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana, indicating a turnaround in the Assembly polls.
The surprise win is a boost to the saffron party’s morale ahead of the November Assembly polls in Maharashtra and Jharkhand.
The BJP’s victory in Haryana is credited to its ability to consolidate the votes of Dalits and Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in its favour, while the Congress was heavily reliant on Jats, who make up about 27 per cent of the electorate.
The Scheduled Castes (SCs) comprise nearly 20 per cent of Haryana’s population, while OBCs account for almost 30 per cent of the people. Saini, who was declared the BJP’s CM face ahead of the Assembly elections, also belongs to the OBC community.
The BJP won eight out of the 17 SC-reserved seats in the Haryana Assembly polls.
As per Indian Express, the Haryana government’s welfare initiatives such as providing gas cylinders for Rs 500 and Lado Lakshmi Yojana helped it win women voters from Dalit and OBC categories. “The BJP is one party that has always given due respect to the downtrodden, the poor, the backward classes, and Dalits. Unlike other political parties who showed off about reaching out to these categories, the BJP took several initiatives for them since coming to power in 2014,” a senior BJP leader told the newspaper.
The saffron party’s internal surveys reveal that its move to unite the OBCs and Dalits against the Jat community helped it in Haryana. “We want to use the same strategy in Maharashtra where the dominant Maratha community appears to be backing the opposition alliance,” a BJP leader told The Telegraph.
Outreach to Dalits
The BJP’s announcement of the date of the Haryana CM’s oath-taking ceremony coincided with the day of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat’s Vijayadashami address on Saturday when he called for a fresh outreach to Dalits.
He alleged an effort by the “deep State” to divide the country on caste lines. “Why should Valmiki Jayanti be celebrated only in Valmiki colonies? Valmiki wrote the Ramayana for the entire Hindu society, and such festivals should therefore be celebrated together by the entire Hindu society. We (the RSS) will go to society with this message,” Bhagwat said, as per The Telegraph.
The BJP believes that the opposition’s accusations that the party would end reservations if it returned to power with a whopping 400 seats dashed its chances in the Lok Sabha polls, taking away its majority in the lower house.
According to The Telegraph, the BJP and RSS are trying to woo Dalits to bring them under the wider Hindutva umbrella to counter the opposition’s demand for a nationwide caste census.
Speaking on the occasion of Valmiki Jayanti, Amit Shah has previously stressed that all the Modi government’s schemes are aimed at improving the socio-economic conditions of Dalits and the poor.
The saffron party is on the path to win back Dalit voters. The Haryana CM taking oath on Valmiki Jayanti seems to be one such move.
With inputs from agencies
